1. Field of the Invention
This disclosure relates generally to the field of medicinal appliers, and in particular to a disposable device and method for the improved self-administration of eye drops.
2. Description of Related Art
The eye consists of living tissues, muscles, and nerves fed by blood vessels. As a result, on occasion, medication needs to be applied to the eye. However, the eye is a quasi-spherical organ, and so the surfaces to which the medication is applied, which are not limited to the fraction of the eye about the iris which is normally visible, are difficult to stabilize during the application of medicine.
When self-administering eye drops, a user typically must retract the lower lid of the eye; for example, to administer the eye drops to the sclera or whitish portion forming the entire eye except for the iris and pupils. Typically, a patient or eye-affliction sufferer may use one's own finger on one hand to retract the eyelid while squeezing medication with the other hand from a dropper containing the eye drop liquid onto the exposed sclera. This traditional approach to instilling eye drops has a number of disadvantages; for example, contact of the fingers with the eyelid and its vicinity, which may promote infections if the fingers are in an unsanitary state.
Also, the process of self-administering eye drops may be inaccurate in that the user has to judge the position and orientation of the eye dropper while both hands are positioned above the face, and are not physically stabilized with respect to each other. Besides wasting medication, inaccurate application of eye drops may reduce the efficacy of the medication, and may also discourage use of eye drops by people who have difficulty in self-administering eye medication.
Other users may be less capable of self-administration of eye drops by the traditional approach. For example, the elderly, arthritis sufferers, and people with poor hand-eye coordination may be inordinately challenged to apply medication to their own eyes. However, in many instances, such users may not have a nurse or home care assistant available to assist or to completely administer such eye drops to such users. Therefore, a need exists for a disposable device or method which improves the ability and accuracy in self-administering eye drops.
In addition, dangers may be encountered from excessive pressures and protruding elements of medicinal applicators used near the eye, such as devices shown, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,058,466; 3,872,866; 3,934,590; 4,002,168; 4,085,750; 4,605,398; 5,030,214; 5,064,420; 5,154,710; 5,366,448; 5,429,621; and 5,578,019. Thus, a need exists for a device or method which poses less danger from applying pressure and/or protruding elements near the eye.
Further, the efficacy of the medicinal drops is reduced by applying such drops to the cornea of the eye, as opposed to the sclera under, for example, the lower eyelid. Devices known in the art, such as described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,257,417; 5,607,410; and 5,611,788 do not move or retract the lower eyelid, and so apply medication solely to the exposed cornea. In addition, such devices in the prior art may provide excessive pressure in positioning the devices near the eye for applying medication. Thus, a need exists for a device or method which retracts the eyelid from the sclera while preventing excessive pressure from being applied to such regions around the eye.